Successful Beekeeping A-B-C’s
By Terry Martyn Jr.
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John Reese
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Contents
Pets and Other Domestic Creatures ...11
Wild Animals ...11
Climate ...11
Rules and Regulations ...12
Neighbors ...12
Watch and Learn from the Bees ...14
Join Your Local Beekeeping Group ...15
Support the Group...16
Producing Queens...19
Transferring the Bees to the Hive ...32
Disease Management ...42
Managing Bees within Your Hive ...50
Hive Strength ...53
More Supers ...53
Capped Honey...53
Laying Queen ...54
Brood ...54
Your First Harvest...55
Extracting the Honey Crop ...55
Brushing the Bees ...56
Escape Boards...56
Bee Blowers ...56
Extracting Honey ...58
Equipment ...58
Comb Honey...59
Liquid Honey ...60
Transporting Hives ...62
Important Terms...64
Suppliers ...66
United Kingdom ...66
U.S.A. ...66
Canada ...67
About the Author
I will always be grateful to my grandfather who let me help him with his bee hives and
about the productive and puzzling creatures inside them.
I wrote this book to answer your questions and encourage you, like many other people
I’ve talked to, to become new bee keepers.
I’ve tried to cover as many aspects as I could without loading you down too much with
theory or opinion.
I also hope that that you will use it as a reference and for motivation from when you first
set up a hive to the time, not too far away, when you start sharing your knowledge and
enthusiasm with other would-be apiarists.
Then, you might agree with me that the benefits are much more than just honey and
money!
Benefits of Beekeeping
Pollination
Pollination: Bees are active pollinators. Most plants require effective pollination for their survival.
Bees are the most preferred pollinating insects.
Extensive and proper pollination can bring about
larger harvests of fruits, vegetables, and crops.
Having bees nearby can bring a marked
improvement in the quality and quantity of
vegetables, fruits, or flowers you and your
neighbors grow.
Research shows that the dollar value of pollination by domesticated bees and
beekeepers to a range of agricultural crops in the U.S.A. alone is measured in the
millions of dollars per year.
Stress Reliever
Although there may not be any specific scientific claims to prove it, yet, beekeepers feel
bees help them reduce their personal stress levels. Visitors enjoy just watching the bees
coming in and going out of their hives with all their hustle and bustle.
Educational
Beekeeping is very educational for adults and children. You can learn many things from
watching bees as they follow specific patterns of work.
Different categories of bees have assigned duties. Keeping a regular watch on beehives,
observing bees, drones, and worker bees going about their work can teach us valuable
lessons on work and time management.
Gifts
Beekeeping helps you to be able to shower your friends and
relatives with various exclusive gifts at a fairly low cost. Gift items
from your beehives could include bottled honey, beeswax,
cosmetics, homemade candles and even lip balm.
Healthy Products
maintain your health. A regular supply of fresh, pure honey collected from your own
beehive is just the start.
Many people believe that propolis (a glue produced and used by bees to maintain their
First Steps
Before you order or build your first hive and invite any bees to move in, check that you
have the space, time, money and other resources necessary for your new hobby.
I will share the knowledge I’ve gathered about every aspect of beekeeping but much will
depend on your personal circumstances and other commitments, local regulations and
your neighbors.
Cost
You need enough money to set up your hives, gather the equipment needed and buy
your bees long before you will see any return at all from the first couple of hives.
You can sometimes get used equipment at a lower cost but you must be careful that
every precaution has been taken to ensure that it does not carry any defects or residue
of any disease which could affect your bees.
The best advice is to buy new equipment and to pay a bit extra for better quality gear
that you can be confident will require minimum maintenance and last longer.
You need to work out for yourself what it is worth to you to reduce the time and stress
that can result from buying out of the bargain bin, especially when you are still learning
your way around.
Space
You need enough space to locate each hive with at least a few feet clear of obstructions.
You should allow at least three feet between hives.
You also need easy access to the area where you put your hives. You will need to
remove, repair or replace parts of the hive, bring in your equipment and take out the
honey and other produce as well as damaged hive sections.
Keep some distance between the hives and any public paths or roads. This reduces the
chance of bees upsetting passers-by or the public interfering with your bees.
Planting a hedge or placing some fencing about 6 feet high between the hives and any
public area will reduce the possibility of conflict. It’s no problem for the bees which are
naturally inclined to circle upward as they leave the hive so that they can map their
Food, Water etc.
Bees can travel miles to get the food they need but the shorter the distance they need to
cover, the less risk that they do not return and the greater chance of a bumper harvest
from happier, stronger bees.
A reliable, year-round source of water is also essential. It should not be something like a
pool or a bucket under a dribbling tap which the bees would have to share with other
creatures, human or animal.
The water should be at least a few feet from the hive so that the bees can relieve
themselves on the way. Bees do not foul their hives and you don’t want them fouling
their water supply.
Make sure that there is something, like twigs or small pieces of plastic foam, floating in
the water where they can stand while they drink. Bees don’t swim – they can drown!
Pets and Other Domestic Creatures
My cat has never had a problem with my bees and most cats will probably be too smart
to get stung.
Dogs, generally, are more inquisitive, even aggressive and there is probably more risk of
a painful confrontation. Keep the dog away from the area where the bees are travelling
and drinking or make sure it is closely supervised by an adult or responsible older child.
Larger animals, like cattle and horses, are more likely to harm your bees and the hive
than suffer any major damage themselves. Don’t risk it!
Wild Animals
From bugs to mice and on up to bears, they’re all likely to have a negative effect on your
bees and your returns. Keep them away by whatever legal means you can.
Avoid poison, if for no other reason than it could hurt you, your honey and your bees as
well.
Climate
Bees can live almost anywhere where there is enough vegetation to provide the raw
materials for their comb building and honey production.
But, you should avoid intense sunlight or dark areas where they would have to work too
Under a shady tree might be a good location but keep a
reasonable distance from the tree trunk and branches.
If your area gets frost or snow, you will need to protect the
hives during the cold months. You might wrap the hives while
leaving the entrance area clear.
You will also have to ensure that there is no snow or
condensation inside the top of the hive. As the frost melts,
the cold water could drop on and kill your bees. That could
have a serious effect on the health and productivity of the hives.
Don’t put the entrance in the path of the prevailing wind.
Hilltops and the bottom of depressions expose your hives to cold weather and the risk of
damp seriously affecting the internal parts of the hive and, of course, the health of the
whole colony.
If the hive receives sunlight early in the morning, that encourages the bees to start their
work sooner.
Rules and Regulations
Before you start beekeeping, you must check all county or district restrictions. Some
counties require beekeepers to register apiary locations with the county agricultural
commissioner during January or whenever you get new bees.
You need to pay appropriate fees.
Neighbors
You should also consider any possible allergic reactions to your family or neighbors due
to beekeeping. Consider possible oppositions before you start beekeeping.
Much of the opposition which I’ve heard about has been fuelled by media reports of
“killer bees” which are mostly hype.
But, there are a small number of people who can have a serious reaction to even one
bee sting.
The other downside of bees is their droppings can damage a car’s exterior and, of
course, put spots on the vehicle. This is not usually a major factor – birds drop more
You can also reduce the possibility by putting fencing or tall plants, about six feet high, a
few feet in front of the hive entrance to encourage the foragers to fly higher soon after
Watch and Learn from the Bees
The most important lessons that you will learn will come from your bees. So, be
prepared to spend a reasonable amount of time in their company.
An important factor in your eventual success is the
gradual development of your understanding or intuition
about how your particular bees are doing.
We must use all our senses when we are near the
hives. Sometimes, it might just be an out of the ordinary
smell or sound which is the signal that something is
wrong and we need to take some sort of action.
For instance, your bees may be rushing around the hive entrance. This is common when
the foragers are starting out in the morning or when a bee has returned to the hive and
alerted the other workers of a new, rich source of food for the colony.
But, the current commotion may be the result of an attempted invasion by aggressive
bees from another hive!
You can see how important it is that you learn as quickly as possible how to know what
Join Your Local Beekeeping Group
Membership of your local group of beekeepers can also be invaluable.
One of the greatest assets for a new beekeeper is the knowledge and active support of
more experienced people in your area.
However, it is a common complaint that, "When you get three beekeepers together, you
are sure to hear at least four theories of the best way to keep bees!"
The first lesson is that we should never stop listening and learning.
You will only know how good the advice you are given is when you put some of it into
practice. Beekeeping, after all, is a hobby with more than 1000 years of history behind it.
We still have a great deal to learn and it is even possible that we have forgotten some
important points about proper hive management.
Some say that our hobby is as much an art as a science.
If we stop listening, learning and evaluating ideas and practices that are new to us, we
reduce the potential benefits that we may gain from our beekeeping.
Just because an idea is new or has been successful for another beekeeper, does not
mean that you should blindly follow these suggestions and rush to change your current
method, especially if it has been successful for you up until now!
Your own ideas will change to some extent as you get more experience around your
hives.
The more experienced members can not only provide information which will speed your
learning process, some may let you watch them do the various tasks, like inspecting
hives and frames, preparing and using a smoker etc.
You could also help the other members by volunteering
to help them with some of the physical work and gain
some valuable experience for yourself.
Many clubs offer classes where you can learn some of
the practical aspects of your new hobby. Don't be afraid
to ask questions about any part which is not clear to you.
From my own experience, I know that many people hold
back because they don't want to exhibit their lack of knowledge in front of the other
You may also be helping other inexperienced people who are also having trouble with
that particular aspect but hesitate about asking questions.
In fact, it's a good idea to seek out other beginners in the group and have your own
discussions and provide support to each other when needed.
Don't worry if some of the group seem to progress much faster than you feel you are
doing. The important thing is to learn the basics thoroughly, but do it at a pace which you
personally are comfortable with.
Support the Group
Try to give back something for the value you get, not just by paying your annual
subscription and turning up for meetings. Every club of whatever kind needs more
members who will invest some of their time and energy to help the club with the smooth
running of projects and the regular meetings.
Almost every club, not just beekeepers, usually has too many drones.
Many members will notice your willingness to give back. Some may try to take
Types of Bees
There are many varieties of bees.
The most common domesticated bee is the Apis
mellifera.
I suggest you start with the “Italian” species which has
earned a reputation for their usually peaceful attitude,
production and general good health.
Discuss this with other keepers in your local area before making a decision. There may
be reasons based on local conditions which have the majority selecting another species.
But, make sure this is not something which only one particular beekeeper is fixed upon.
Queens, Workers and Drones.
All bee colonies have three categories of bees; the queen bee, female worker bees and
male drones.
Queen Bee
A single egg is laid in a single cell of a wax honeycomb. Worker bees produce royal jelly
to feed larvae. All larvae are fed royal jelly initially. Later, a single larva is fed only royal
jelly while others are fed pollen and honey. This single larva undergoes several moltings
and then spins a cocoon within the cell before pupating.
This larva grows into the queen bee.
The Queen bee is the largest bee and the only breeding female in the colony.
The Queen bee is raised from a normal egg but, after selection to be the new queen, the
workers continue to feed her Royal Jelly instead of the pollen the other immature bees
get.
She has a longer body than the others but has short wings. She may be lighter or darker
than other bees in the colony. Since she cannot take care of herself, she has many
attendant bees to feed her, follow her, groom her, and carry away her waste. The queen
bee has an unbarbed stinger. She rarely stings beekeepers. Her sting is used for
stinging other queens. She can sting any number of times.
Normally, there is only a single mated adult queen within a hive. Sometimes, there could
The success of your bee colony depends on the quality of the queen bee. You can
purchase queen bees from commercial beekeepers or raise a queen to continue with the
same strain and maintain a successful bee colony.
The Queen bee’s job is to lay eggs. She usually lays more than 1,000 eggs each day.
Her life span may extend from two to eight years.
Virgin queens go on mating flights away from their home. The queen mates with multiple
drones. The mated queen will establish a new colony with a large contingent of worker
bees. The nest or hive is scouted and prepared beforehand by worker bees. Then, the
queen starts to lay eggs to produce her new brood.
A queen which mated in flight with many bees may bring back less desirable
characteristics which will start to show in the new brood.
So, you may sometimes decide to introduce a new queen from your supplier who
provides quality stock.
Introducing a New Queen Bee
Queen bee introduction is important as it can change the quality of the bee colony. Most
colonies should be re-queened every two years, more often if the current queen is not
producing well.
Get a young mated queen from a bee breeder with six to twelve attendant bees and
supply of queen-cage candy for food.
This queen will be marked so that you can easily identify it.
Before re-queening, kill the old queen and crush any queen cells with a hive tool. Place
the new caged queen within two hours. Remove the cover from the hole in the queen
cage to expose the candy plug.
Shake bees off the comb of the emerging brood ready for a new queen. Place the queen
beneath the cage and press the cage at least 1/8 inch into the comb. Replace the comb
in to the brood nest and leave the hive alone for a week. The queen will be released
when the bees eat the queen cage candy.
Drones
Drones are male bees. These hatch from unfertilized eggs. There are around a few
hundred of drones in a hive and they live for about six to eight weeks. They do not have
drones is to mate with a queen. Drones can detect virgin queens on their nuptial flight
and go to mate.
Drones left at the end of the season are considered useless and are driven out of the
hive before the onset of winter to die. The main reason for this is to conserve the limited
food stores for the more productive members of the colony.
Worker Bees
Worker bees are sterile females. There could be around 30 to 50 thousand female
worker bees in a colony. Worker bees born in spring usually live for six weeks while
those born later will live until the next spring.
They are about 12 mm long and do all the work. They have a pollen basket on each hind
leg where they put the food they bring back to the hive, four pairs of special glands to
secrete beeswax underneath their abdomen, an extra stomach for storing and
transporting nectar or honey, and a straight barbed stinger for single use only. Because
of the barb, the stinger rips open their abdomen when they sting someone and the bee
dies.
Worker bees do all tasks essential to maintain a hive.
When young, these bees are called house bees. They attend to all work in their hive:
• building honeycombs
• rearing the brood
• protecting the hive
• maintaining optimum temperature within the hive by rapidly beating their wings
• keeping the hive clean, and
• tending to the queen bee.
The older worker bees are called field bees. They search and collect the nectar, sticky
plant resins (which they make into propolis – bee glue) and pollen.
Producing Queens, Drones and Workers
Producing Queens
Drones mate with virgin queen bees in flight. If the mating drones are of poor quality,
A queen bee can produce fertilized and unfertilized eggs. The unfertilized egg is haploid
and produces a drone male bee which carries a similar genetic set-up to its mother, the
queen bee. It also carries a few strains of the genetic build-up of the queen bee's father.
A drone bee does not have any father of its own as it comes from an unfertilized egg.
If the queen bee is not well mated, the drones it produces could be of different strains
because the queen bee will pass on genes from her mother and father into the drones
she lays.
Producing Worker Bees
If a hive for any reason is queen-less for more than twenty-four hours, workers bees
would try to raise a queen from the queen cells. If there are no queen cells, these worker
bees will start laying eggs. These will take around four to six weeks to mature.
Workers are female bees, but they produce unfertilized eggs as they have undeveloped
ovaries. Normally, pheromones from the queen and brood inhibit the development of the
workers' ovaries.
By the time the worker bees start laying eggs, the colony population could have reduced
drastically as there is no queen to lay eggs and increase the brood.
It is almost impossible to replace a laying worker with a newly introduced queen.
You can try to rescue the colony by replacing the hive body, bottom board and four
frames of bees and brood. Also include some frames with honey.
Then, introduce a new queen.
Check the hive after several days to see if the queen has been released and accepted.
If all is well, the new queen will raise a substantial brood and you will have a brimming
Essential Equipment
Bee Hives
Early beekeepers harvested honey from wherever bees set up their colonies.
Some other early, man-made hives looked like inverted
baskets and did not have any way for the keeper to
examine the interior or remove the honey unless he
destroyed the hive and killed or removed the bees.
These beehives provided only an outer enclosure
without any formal structure within. Bees filled the insides with honeycombs. Honey
extraction in traditional beehives required crushing of the wax honeycomb to squeeze
out the honey. These hives thereby produced more beeswax than honey. It was not
possible to remove honeycombs without destroying hives. Later adaptations of traditional
beehives housed removable extra top baskets. These could be removed once bees filled
them with honey.
Other traditional types of beehives included:
Tile hives: Clay tubes were used to form beehives in the Middle East, ancient Egypt, Italy and Greece. Long cylinders of baked clay were used singly or stacked in rows.
Keepers smoked at one end to drive out bees during honey harvesting.
Skeps: These baskets were made of coils of grass or straw with a single entrance. The bees built the inside themselves. Honey extraction required killing of bees and squeezing
of Skeps. These are no longer in use.
Bee gums: Sections of hollow trees like red gum were used to house bees. These were set upright in apiaries and sometimes had crossed sticks to provide cover or attachment
for honeycomb. Honey harvesting destroyed bee colonies.
Petro Prokopovych invented the first artificial beehive in 1814 in the Ukraine.
Modern Hives
Most wooden beehives are made of pine or cedar wood. Cedar is preferred. The natural
oils in cedar may improve the life of the beehive
When deciding whether to buy a readymade beehive or build one from a kit, consider the
weight and the freight. Most kits come with adequate instructions and you may be able to
An empty box might weigh around four to five pounds. It will weigh close to a hundred
pounds when the frames are full of honey.
Enthusiastic beekeepers have developed many designs and variations which they
believe better suit their own requirements and local conditions. They include
WBC: Designed by William Carr, an amateur beekeeper early in the 20th Century, this
traditional design is very pleasing to the eye with a peaked roof and sloping boards on
the sides. It was designed to better protect the hive and its contents from wet and cold
weather. The working hive is housed in a set of thinner walls inside the outer sloping
panels.
It is not as easy to manage as designs like the Langstroth because the outer walls have
to be removed so that you can work on the productive sections. This double-wall
construction adds to the size and weight while providing a smaller area for production of
honey than other designs.
It is still widely used. Some people like the appearance despite its lower productivity and
the outer walls allow the inner sections to be lighter and easier to handle.
Top bar hives are found in Africa and Asia and used for programs like 'Bees for
Development' because they are relatively simple to produce and can often be made from
local materials. These hives do not have frames.
These have movable frames with only a top bar. Bees build comb so that it hangs down
from top bar. This top-bar design is a single and longer box with all frames hanging in
parallel. Bees have to rebuild the comb after each harvest.
It is easy to interact with hives and lifting honeycombs is simpler and much lighter. You
do not replace the honeycomb of top bar hives back into the hive after extraction. Honey
production in such hives is just 20% of that of a Langstroth hive.
Langstroth: In the mid 1800’s, a Rev. Langstroth designed the hive which bears his name and is still among the most widely
used hives today. It’s the type which I’ll focus on in this book.
The hive parts are of standardized sizes and removable frames
allow for easy removal and replacement without harming the
bees. The Langstroth design has a number of wooden sections
that hold the removable frames on which bees construct the
The removable top gives easy access for the keeper to inspect and maintain the interior
sections as well as fix any problems and remove the vertical frames when it is time to
harvest.
Rev. Langstroth also set the standard gap between the vertical frames (3/8”) which
allows the bees to move about but is not so wide that they clutter it with bee glue
(propolis) or burr comb (extra pieces of wax comb which bees build between the wax in
Managing Hives
Proper bee management ensures healthy beekeeping. You should inspect your
beehives every fortnight to make sure the queen is laying eggs, there is sufficient room,
the bees are disease-free, and honey storage is going smooth. Record all your
observations in a diary for later reference.
It’s nice to see that you are getting better results but it can also help alert you to any
potential problems.
Parts of a Hive
Most modern bee hives have parts which have the
same names and function of other designs. This
section is an overview which focuses on the
functional pieces common to most hives. The names
given to the various pieces may vary with different
designs and in different locations. There are many
hybrid designs which individual beekeepers of groups
have developed to better suit their particular needs.
Stand: Most beehives have a stand or are placed on a bench or table which serves the same function; keeping them off the ground, clear of vegetation and at a height which is
more comfortable for the beekeeper to work on the hive.
The bottom of the hive should not be too far off the ground because you will find it more
difficult to work on the upper sections after you have added one more supers to a
productive hive. About 30 inches is probably a good height.
The stand or bench will need to support the weight of the honey-laden hive which could
be as much as 150 pounds.
Floor: This is a sheet of wood which protects the hive from predators and reduces the effects of the weather.
Entrance adjuster: With some designs, a slide is incorporated which can be adjusted to allow several bees or just one to enter or exit the hive at the time. Other designs have a
separate wooden bar with small and large slots in two adjacent surfaces which performs
Mouse excluder: A further step to protecting your hives where there is a risk that mice might try to enter them, is to add a metal strip which has a number of holes in it that
permit bees to enter but will block rodents.
Varroa screen: This is a metal screen in a wooden frame which is set below the brood and honey frames. It is a safe and surprisingly effective way of reducing the effects of
the Varroa mite which is becoming one of the most prevalent threats in beekeeping.
It was discovered that many of the mites fall off their bee hosts and onto the hive floor,
but are able to crawl back up to where they can get on to the bees again. The Varroa
screen stops them from climbing up and re-infesting the bees because they fall through
the screen and die through lack of food.
Some keepers use a sticky board between the screen and the hive bottom board so that
they can check how many mites drop through. This gives them a better idea about the
level of infestation.
Frame boxes: These are the four sided, bottomless and topless boxes which protect and support the frames on which the bees build the comb in which they put their eggs or
honey.
The lowest frame box is called the brood box. This is where the colony conducts their
lives; the brood is raised, the queen lays her eggs, the honey needed by the bees for
their own use is stored and bees regulate the temperature within the hive by beating
their wings.
The other frame boxes are sometimes called “supers” because they are used for the
thinner “super” frames where the bees put the honey which you can harvest at the
appropriate time.
Frames: These four sided inserts are usually made of wood though some keepers use ones made of plastic.
Plastic frames do not suffer damage by wax moths as
much, and don’t need assembly or painting. But direct
sunlight may warp them and they aren’t as easy to
sterilize before re-use.
The frames contain a sheet of foundation (usually
made of wax) with a grooved pattern of hexagons impressed on it. This pattern guides
Plastic foundation sheets are becoming available but some keepers report they are less
attractive to their bees. Maybe the producers will impregnate them with the smell of
natural wax or find some other way to overcome this.
Shallow frames are used in the upper boxes where the bees put their honey. Deeper
frames are used in the lowest box which is where the queen lays the eggs and the brood
is raised.
The frames often have a wire support woven through them.
Super frames with no wire support are usually used when the honey is being produced
and supplied in its natural comb.
Queen excluder: A perforated plastic or metal screen which is placed between the brood box and the upper boxes where the bees will store the honey. This prevents the
queen, which is larger than the worker bees, from travelling into the upper boxes and
laying eggs there.
If the queen is able to lay eggs in these frames, the workers will bring pollen there to
feed the brood and the honey from that area will be cloudy and of lower value.
Crown Board: This is the cover over the top super which helps to protect the hive from the weather. The board has a hole in the center through which you can feed the bees
without removing the board.
It’s usually made of wood but clear plastic Crown boards are used when the keeper
wants to be able to watch the activity below with minimum disturbance of the bees.
The plastic type should be replaced by a wooden Crown board for better weather
resistance during the winter.
Roof: This is usually wood with a sheet of thin metal over it for strength. Ventilation holes are provided. The Langstroth and most other hives, except the WBC, have flat
Clothing
From the start, you need to accept that you will get some bee stings.
Stings on the face and neck are very painful and may cause more swelling than on other
parts of your body.
Protective clothing is essential for the beekeeper and also for family members or other
people who visit your hives, to reduce the number and severity of those stings and the
number of bees that die stinging you.
A full protective suit is the ideal and there is some price competition between suppliers.
If you don’t want to invest in a full outfit when you start, you can get separate items
which will keep your initial costs down.
The minimum I can recommend is a combined hat and veil and gloves. A veil will protect
your face.
Gloves will help to protect you from bee stings and prevent bees from crawling inside
your sleeves. But, many experienced beekeepers prefer not to use gloves as these
restrict the delicate handling required.
Jackets and other items are available.
All your clothing should be light-colored and comfortable. Dark clothing is said to
encourage more attacks from bees,
You must ensure that you fully seal all gaps between the protective gear and your other
clothing or bees will make you very uncomfortable. Don’t forget to completely cover the
area around your ankles so that bees cannot climb up your legs or sting your ankles –
stings in those areas are very painful.
The Tools
Every hobby or business has its own specialized equipment. I will just describe the most
common tools here. As your experience grows, you will be better able to decide if you
need some new “improved” implement or you can save your money and stick with these
proven devices.
Keep all your tools together in a suitable, portable container.
When you get to the hive try to make as little noise as possible when putting down the
container and the separate tools. Bees are sensitive to vibration and you want to keep
them as calm as possible.
Hive Tool
This is an essential tool with a variety of uses. Some keepers even use the edge to lift
out bee stings if their fingernails are too short!
Many beekeepers have developed their own variations and several have been popular
enough to be manufactured commercially.
This is the best tool to lever apart the sections of the hive. There is more chance of
damage if you use a large screwdriver or other tool which is not designed for the task.
Bee Brush
This is used to brush bees from your clothing or from yourself.
The Smoker
When you open a hive, the guard bees go into defensive mode and release a special
pheromone to warn other bees of the intrusion.
Beekeepers use a smoker which creates smoke from incomplete combustion of various
fuels. The smoke is believed to mask the alarm pheromones released by guard bees
and also makes the bees think fire is approaching. The bees start gorging themselves,
getting ready to abandon the hive.
This makes it easy for you to open the hive and work without any defensive reactions by
bees.
When you finish your inspection, provided you do it in a calm manner and don’t take too
long, they will settle back into their routine. But, each inspection will have some effect on
Your smoker will not be useful for a swarm, because swarms do not have honey stores
to feed on. Also, swarms are less defensive so your smoker is not usually needed when
gathering a swarm.
This device has a bellows, metal combustion chamber
where you burn the material which produces the
smoke, and a spout which you use to direct the smoke
to the area where you want it.
It needs some practice to ensure that you use it
appropriately – too much smoke or heat can upset the
bees instead of just encouraging them to move away
from the frame which you want to handle. Upset bees
sting!
Grass cuttings, wood shavings, rolled cardboard and hessian can be used to smoulder
rather than burn and just produce smoke rather than flame.
Ensure that none of the materials have any substances in them which may harm the
bees. Some cardboard materials may have poisonous paint or fire-retardant chemicals
on it. The grass and wood shavings may have been treated or sprayed with poisons of
some kind.
Apply a puff to the area which you want to clear and the bees will usually retreat in a few
minutes to other supers to start collecting their honey before fleeing from the fire they
think is approaching. They will not actually leave if you minimize the time your need to do
your work and then let them settle back into their routine.
There is a water-based product called Liquid Smoke which is sprayed on bees from a
plastic spray bottle. It is claimed to be a cheaper, safer and more convenient alternative
Getting Your Bees
You can get bees for your beehive from different sources like a package, swarm, a small
nuclease hive, or a complete hive. It is best to obtain bees only after acquiring all
essential hive equipment and setup. Beginners should acquire bees from nuclease hive
or package bees.
Getting your bee stock from your club or a local breeder is the best option because it is
likely to be cheaper, but the main reason is that this means less stress on the bees.
If you are getting your stock from a club, they will not wait long for you to collect them
because that could cause trauma to the bees and there are always more wanting bees
than they can supply.
Another advantage is that you will be able to get advice from the local supplier more
quickly and it will take into account the local conditions you will raise your bees in.
Avoid suppliers, however low-cost or well-intentioned, that do not have a history of
providing good stock.
Many amateur beekeepers start to offer nucs and packages after just a couple of
seasons experience and they don’t always deliver the quality product or support that you
need.
You will need to order your bees months before the delivery date. Orders are sent by the
order date received method.
Nuc's are likely to be limited in number, especially from suppliers in your area.
Complete Hive
The complete hive comes with the queen and her entire brood.
Use appropriate transport to move the hive to your property without disturbing the bees.
Before finalizing your purchase of a complete hive, get it inspected by a county or state
bee inspector for any diseases or pests. If you cannot locate a bee inspector in your
area, get help from an experienced beekeeper. There is a significant risk with any
second hand equipment.
You should also examine the brood to find if it has a good number of worker bees,
sufficient honey stores, and that the queen has a good brood laying pattern.
This is not the choice I recommend for a beginner as you have to maintain a full working
Leave this option until you have started with either a nucleus or a package and have a
full year’s experience and more discussions and advice of experienced beekeepers
behind you.
Nucleus Hive
A Nuclease (or nuc) is a part of the whole hive housed in cardboard boxes serving as a
temporary shelter. The nuc consists of a young queen, a drawn comb where the queen
is laying eggs, several pounds of bees, and small honey and pollen stores. Development
of bees within a nuc could be four weeks ahead of a package of bees. So, a beehive
started with a nuc develops faster than that with a package.
Setting up a Nucleus
Your Nuc may be delivered by the postal service (courier) or you may be required to
collect it from the Post Office or from your association. If you have to collect it, they will
want you to do that very soon after they notify you of its arrival.
You must protect the package from sunlight and high temperatures which could seriously
harm your new stock.
Although the nuc probably has sufficient stores and space for at least a couple of days,
get them moved to your hive as soon as possible to minimize any trauma.
They are best transferred when it is cool.
Gently place your tools and the nuc near the hive.
You should wear your protective clothing.
Open the top of the hive and transfer the three or five frames from the nuc to the hive,
one at a time. Keep them in the same sequence as they were in the nuc.
Do not squeeze the frames or handle them roughly.
While you are doing this, watch for the queen but do not take extra time to search for
her.
You want to complete the transfer as speedily as possible so that there is very little
disruption for the bees.
The advantage of the Nuc method over a package of bees is that the bees continue with
frames that they are familiar with. This can give them a head-start equivalent to three
Package Bees
Bees ready to start colonies are packed in screen wire cages. The package of bees are
available in different sizes in some areas.
Package bees are inspected before being sold and should arrive disease–free and in
good general condition.
Some dead bees will be found, as with a nuc, but you should contact your supplier if
there are a large number of dead or injured bees for no obvious reason.
Transferring the Bees to the Hive
Assemble your new beehive and fit it with frames containing a foundation before the
packaged bees arrive.
The best time to install bees into a hive is late afternoon. This prevents any drifting of
bees.
If weather turns windy, damp, and cold when it is time to open and put the package into
the hive, delay installation temporarily. Keep spraying sugar syrup regularly on the
package to keep the bees alive.
Put on your protective gear and set out your package on something which keeps it off
the ground near the hive.
Give them a spray of sugar syrup.
Tap the bottom of the package in a flat surface to send the bees to the bottom of the
box. It is unlikely to hurt any healthy bees.
Open the cover of the package with your hive tool.
Remove the small square lid on top of the package. You will see the top of the syrup can
used for feeding your bees in transit and a wire piece or metal strip dangling between the
can and the top of the cage which secures the queen cage.
The queen cage will have a cork or plastic cap over the candy plug in the hole in the top
of the queen cage.
Remove this cap. Put the queen cage and feeder can to one side.
Take four frames out of one side of the hive and one from the center.
Hang the queen cage (with the plugged opening at the top) between the two center
Give the other bees another gentle spray of sugar syrup.
Tap the bottom of the package again.
Turn the package over and pour the bees onto and around the queen cage in the gap
between the two center frames.
When you have transferred all the bees, discard the package and replace the other
frames in the hive. Do this carefully – you want to avoid injuring or killing the bees
because this would alarm the other bees at a very traumatic time.
Place your wooden hive feeder on to the hive body containing the bees.
Add sugar syrup to the feeder.
Put the top cover over the feeder.
Set your entrance reducer to the minimum gap.
Your bees will feed on the sugar candy which blocks the hole in the queen cage and
release their queen.
Leave your new colony to acclimatize and recover. Don’t inspect them for at least five
days.
Package bees offer the opportunity to watch growth and development but they need to
be undisturbed for that initial period at the start.
The harvest in the first year will probably be less from a package than from other
sources.
Hiving a Swarm
Bee swarms should be left to experienced beekeepers. I include these
brief notes for completeness, but consult an experienced local
beekeeper before trying this yourself.
Bee swarms may be found hanging from a tree, parking meter, or in
similar places. Many swarms are searching for a new home and
probably are not very aggressive.
Use a small cardboard box with a screened hole about 3"x3" on one
side for ventilation and air.
If the swarm is on a low-hanging branch of a tree, place the box under
small, cut it and put it inside the box. Keep the box in the same place for around an hour,
so any flying bees can also slowly gather into the box. You can collect the entire brood.
If you want to capture a swarm from the top branches of trees and you are comfortable
with the climbing involved, cut off the branch and carefully lower it to the ground.
Remove hive covers and shake the branch firmly into the hive to dislodge bees over the
combs and entrance of your hive. The bees will start moving into your hive.
Put the hive covers back when the swarm is all in the hive. Move the hive to its
permanent location immediately as the bees will imprint their surrounding on their first
flight from their new hive.
Swarms that are close to the ground are usually easy to hive. Put a cloth beneath the
swarm and place the hive on it. Use your smoker to drive the bees from where the
swarm has lodged down towards the hive entrance.
Use smooth weeds or leaves to brush any clustering bees towards the hive. Most bees
will be thrown onto the cloth.
Some will start crawling up the board and start fanning at the entrance. Others will go
into the hive. Allow bees some time to settle within the hive. Place inner and outer
covers on your hive.
The cloth offers a good surface for bees. Otherwise, many would get lost in the grass
and weeds or cluster elsewhere.
While hiving a swarm, place the hive in the place where you want it to remain
permanently.
Fill the frames with foundation or extra combs, if they are available.
Carefully remove one or more combs from a swarm with a brood and place it in the
center of the hive. The comb must not have a queen. Fill the hive with frames. Shake the
swarm into the hive gently and allow the bees to settle within. As soon as a few bees
have settled inside, let free the entire swarm within the hive. Push all the bees
meandering around inside the hive. Make sure that the queen enters the hive or all the
other bees will come out.
The swarm may spend the night on the foundation or combs you provide within the hive.
The natural instincts of the workers will prompt them to repair old combs or build fresh
ones while the youngest bees begin cleaning the comb.
Helpful Tips
• Hiving a swarm in early spring or summer allows sufficient time for bees to build
and gather a surplus.
• Keep feeding the swarm while hiving as this keeps bees busy and the workers
will be able to build or repair combs faster.
• After hiving a swarm, move it to a shady location. If left in the sun, the hive could become so warm that the newly hived bees might dehydrate or leave.
• Provide bees with a few drawn combs to accelerate bee settlement within the
hive.
• One or two frames of pollen and honey within the hive frames help bees.
Prevention of Bee Swarming
Swarms are great but not when it’s your bees leaving home!
So, here are some suggestions which will help you to keep your bees happy at home.
Swarming may be due to overcrowding. The interior of the hives could become hot and
congested. Reduce the inclination to swarm by ensuring sufficient ventilation and
additional space for the bees to be comfortable and have room to store more produce.
Add more hive bodies and frames. Extract honey more frequently to allow more space
for future storage and brood rearing.
Inspect your beehives more frequently during swarming season. Weekly inspections can
be a good idea.
If there are many queen cells along the frame bottoms, it may indicate an intention to
swarm.
Cut off these queen cells and dispose of them or rear them elsewhere.
Re-queening with young queens early in the season can reduce the likelihood of
swarming during the peak season.
Queen and drone traps can be placed at the hive entrance to stop them leaving but this
is not foolproof. The traps may catch drones or queens but virgin queens would escape
and then swarming would occur.
You should be more careful in bee management if the hive has a queen excluder which
Combining Weak Hives
As a beekeeper, you may have strong and weak hives. It is not possible to save every
hive. You could waste lot of time trying to make a weak hive stronger and not get results
which repay your efforts.
It is usually better to combine a weak and a strong hive so that you produce one good
bee colony with more bees.
It would not work to just replace the old queen of a colony that has deteriorated with a
new good queen.
It is best not to combine two weak hives. They will probably not develop into a strong
hive despite your most sincere efforts.
The strength of a beehive depends on the queen. If the queen bee is strong and good,
the beehive will prosper. If the queen is failing, the colony will soon fail and wither off.
It is best to kill a failing queen in the fall and combine her brood with a stronger colony.
You should have a very strong colony by early spring. You can then split it into two
healthy colonies.
Then you can bring in a new queen for the queen-less section of the split. Adding a
queen to a split is just like buying a nuc. The new hive will have a good brood, healthy
bees, and a new queen. Within eight weeks this hive will develop into a fully productive
hive.
During the peak season, a hive may lose its queen. The hive may not be able to produce
a new emergency queen.
You can combine two hives, a queen-less and a hive with a queen, with little more than
some clean, perforated newspaper.
Place a perforated sheet of newspaper on a queen excluder over the hive with the
queen.
Place the queen-less hive on the newspaper.
The bees from the strong hive would first eat away the newspaper. Bees of the
queen-less hive would not become laying workers, as the pheromones from the bees moving
freely between the sections would discourage ovary development and stop the worker
Sometimes, bee colonies separated with a newspaper would adjust to the new
environment and become a better colony, combining bees of both broods with the old
Feeding Your Bees
Beekeepers supplement the food which bees produce for themselves with sugar syrup,
usually twice a year.
Sometimes, they feed some syrup with medicine to treat or prevent certain conditions.
Usually, it is sufficient to give them one feed of sugar syrup after you have harvested
your honey and another feed of solution when they start to become active in the new
season.
Boil the water you will use for the solution, but let it cool a little before adding the sugar
or it may caramelize which will hurt your bees.
Most beekeepers use an equal volume of water and sugar.
If you leave sufficient honey in the beehive, bees can survive the cold winter months.
Some years honey production in beehives may be less due to lack of proper honey crop.
Bees then may not have sufficient honey to survive winter.
You need to feed those bee colonies until they are able to make fresh honey.
Brood rearing starts in late winter or early spring. This is a very critical period and a bee
colony may need extra feed to continue rearing and feeding.
Bee Food
Bees can be fed sugar and honey.
Do not feed bees brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses or plain corn syrup. Sugars other
than sucrose may harm bees. Avoid sugar products that contain starch.
Honey
This is the best and most natural feed for bees. It is also the costliest. Provide bee
colonies with stored honey in frames of comb or dilute and feed like sugar water. Mix
honey with one-fourth to one-half of warm water and feed.
Restrict the amount of honey mixed in the water during warm weather as the honey will
ferment and get spoiled.
Honey fed in combs or frames can spread diseases through spores.
Table Sugar
Feed bees cane sugar in a syrup solution. During Fall, some keepers feed bees sugar
syrup with one part sugar and one part water.
During spring, they may change to one part sugar with two parts water.
Bees have to liquefy solid sugar and bring it to a honey consistency before use. Dry and
granulated sugar is good as an emergency feed for bees. However, do not feed dry or
granulated sugar if your bee colonies require immediate food for survival.
How to Feed Bees
There are many techniques and suitable equipment to feed syrup to bees.
Entrance Feeder
A quart jar feeder placed at the hive entrance is easy to use. In package colonies, tile
syrup in a feeder becomes very cold. It is distant from the cluster. Place the feeder close
to the side entrance near the brood nest. Chances of robbing are also minimized.
Tile division-board feeder
Hang this feeder within the hive in place of a frame. It can be easily refilled without
removing from hive. This feeder is best suited to provide quick feed for strong colonies. If
you want slow and stimulating feeding, do not use this feeder.
Friction Top Can
This is a very popular feeder that many keepers believe suitable for all types of bee
colonies. Place it over the tile hole of an inner cover or directly on the frames. Fill unused
paint calls, five or ten-pound honey cans, plastic jars, or a gallon glass with syrup and
invert it over the cluster. Do not use recycled cans or jars!
If you want to feed an emergency feed to bee colonies, use combs filled with heavy
sugar syrup.
Some keepers use a coffee can with a bottom full of nail holes, a sprinkling can, or a
fresh garden sprayer to spray or sprinkle syrup over empty combs placed underneath.
A comb filled with syrup on both sides will hold many pounds of syrup. Place two or more
such combs next to a cluster in the colony.
Hive Top Feeder
This is possibly the most popular feeder. There is a tray which is sited above the brood
You can add more solution without disturbing the bees much.
If you have to give them medicated syrup solution, you can be confident that sunlight will
not reduce the effectiveness of the medicine because the feeder is completely enclosed.
Pollen or Pollen Substitutes
Use pollen traps to take off fresh pollen pellets from the legs of incoming field bees. Fill
combs with these pellets for immediate or later use.
These combs can suffice pollen requirements of small colonies.
If strong colonies are in need of pollen, pour a few fresh pollen pellets into cells on one
side of an empty comb and place it in the colony overnight.
Repeat again the next day if there seems to be a need.
You can procure pollen substitutes from bee supply shops. Do not add purchased pollen
Disease Management
As a beekeeper, you must recognize diseases of honeybees and learn the most effective
treatment. It takes experience to spot diseased hives but you can get help from the
Agricultural Department in your State or County and, of course, your Bee group.
Here is a brief description of some of the most common brood diseases.
American Foulbrood
B. larvae is the organism that causes American foulbrood. The disease spreads due to
lax beekeepers.
The best solution is often to burn the hives and bees but preparations like TM25 can
treat a mild affliction of foulbrood in the short-range. Check with your Advisor.
Foulbrood spreads when larvae ingest the bacteria from the nurse bees. The spores
take root and multiply, causing death of the larva in the pupal stage.
The cleaning bees get the infection when clearing the larval debris. Then, they transmit
the dormant spores to the other bees and the spores end up in the honey or again in the
new larva. So, the infection spreads rapidly through the entire colony.
Bees from other hives who visit the infected hive for honey acquire the infection and
foulbrood can spread to most colonies in the vicinity.
European Foulbrood
Decreased honey production may be an indication of European foulbrood. It affects
mostly weak colonies in spring and summer. The larvae acquire the bacterial spores
from nurse bees, but usually die before the cells are capped. The larvae coil up in a C
shape and it is possible to clear the soft scales unlike the debris of larvae in American
foulbrood.
The treatment is similar to that of American foulbrood: it is best to burn the affected
frame. Transferring the frame to another hive can infect the entire colony.
Sacbrood
A virus infection results in Sacbrood where the larvae die before reaching the pupal
stage. You can detect infection when there is a change in the color of the larvae from
white to grayish white. In closed cells, a small opening could be a sign of the viral attack.
Check for the illness and burn the comb if more than twenty percent is infected. Disinfect
The best treatment is to maintain cleanliness and to introduce a new queen in the
colony.
If more than half the brood has the infection, kill all bees with an insect spray.
Parasitic Mite Syndrome (PMS)
Both mites and viruses result in the parasitic mite syndrome that distorts bees. It is
advisable to look for signs before it is too late to treat the disease.
This disease is very serious but symptoms are similar to several other infections.
They may include the presence of Varroa mite, a reduced number of live bees, some
adult bees crawling and, sometimes, some tracheal mite infestation in adult bees.
Your Brood may show signs of Varroa mite infestation and twisted, light-brown larva.
If you are unsure, you should submit a comb sample, at least two inches square to the
nearest lab.
Prompt action is vital to protect healthy colonies in the area.
Chalkbrood
If you notice chalk-like mummies on the floor of the hive, it is a sign of chalkbrood, which
is caused by fungus. It occurs mostly in stressed colonies, so good hygiene and
management of the hive is the best protection for chalkbrood.
The ideal treatment is to supply ample food and to re-colonize with a new queen to
produce a good stock of bees.
Remove the mummies and any frame which has a high number of chalkbrood cells.
The fungi spores are resistant and can take root in damp conditions so keep the hive
area free from dampness to avoid recurrence of chalkbrood.
Diseases of Adult Bees
Nosema
A protozoon named Nosema apis causes Nosema disease in adult bees. Most
beekeepers tend to ignore the disease but it may be the one which causes most bee
deaths in winter.
The beekeeper may only start wondering when he notices a fall in honey collection.
Adult bees take in the Nosema spores that take root in the stomach to germinate and
Usually bees do not dirty the hive, but infected bees discharge a brownish liquid inside
the hive by early spring. Some may discharge liquid on the outside of the hive.
Nosema destroys the gut lining in affected bees, hampering their ability to produce
honey. Affected bees may have atrophied hypopharyngeal glands and may die.
Subsequently, brood production reduces in spring.
Reduce outbreaks of Nosema by:
• Improving ventilation and air circulation in the hive.
• Site the hives to avoid damp conditions and remove any trace of damp in the
hives.
• Check that the all your bees have access to a reliable source of clean water.
• Ask your advisor about medications which are available.
Mites
Varroa and Tracheal mites are the most dangerous mites affecting bees in most states
of the US. Tracheal mites first appeared in the US in the 1980's while the Varroa mites
appeared only in 1987 in a Wisconsin apiary.
They spread rapidly affecting bee populations across North America.
Researchers at several American universities have come up with bees resistant to
tracheal mites. Sugar and grease patties are claimed to be an effective way to treat
tracheal mites.
There are also several other chemical and nonchemical ways to treat these mites.
Varroa mites may be present if you see:
Deformed bees
Spots, red or brown, on bee larvae.
The death of an entire colony in late autumn.
Mites on adult bees. This indicates very high numbers because the mites always target
larvae in uncapped cells first.
Use a Varroa screen to remove a significant proportion of Varroa mites that get on to
Apistan® and other miticides are claimed to be effective against Varroa. They must be
used strictly in accordance with directions (including the safety related ones) or you are
Pest Management
Bees have several enemies that can harm or destroy them, intentionally or otherwise.
Bears
Bears love honey and the brood. They destroy the frame and eat the combs. You will
probably need an electric fence around the hives if bears are active in your area.
Birds
Some birds like sparrows, woodpeckers and Martyns eat adult bees. It is best to chase
them away from the hives with scarecrows or other non-destructive methods as birds are
a mostly protected species.
Ants
Ants do not hurt the bees but are a problem for the beekeeper. They may make a nest
around the top cover and even inside the hive. Avoid chemical repellents for the ants as
it can harm the bees. Set the frame on a stand with its legs in oil so that ants cannot
reach the hive.
Cattle
Cattle harm the hives by rubbing against the frames vigorously and toppling them in the
process. You need a fence of some sort between the cattle and the bees.
Small Hive Beetle
The small hive beetle likes weak colonies, eats, brood, eggs and almost everything
except adult bees. Its feces spoil the honey that it doesn’t eat. It’s bad news but may not
appear in the cooler states as it is tropical in origin.
Contact your State Apiary Inspector to notify him that you think you have an infestation
and get the most current information about possible treatments.
Some chemicals that have been approved for use on this pest have been heavily
restricted in their use.
Frogs
Frogs are an asset to any garden and will be present in damp patches around the hives.
Some frogs may consume bees but you can’t (and should not) do anything about them.
Fire Ants
Fire ants build nests on the ground close to beehives and pose a danger to the
Keep your hives raised on bricks and wear clothes that cover your legs completely when
working with the hives.
Rodents
Rats and mice will nest in the hives, damage them, foul everything with their droppings
and eat the honey.
Use metal guards around the stands and at the entrances. Poisons will do more harm to
your bees and other harmless wildlife.
Raccoons
Raccoons remove the top of the hives unless you secure it with a rock or other heavy
object. They also drink the honey and eat the brood. The best option is to catch them
and remove them from the area.
Skunks
Skunks shake the hive so that the bees fly out and then gobble them up. To avoid this
menace, keep the hives at a height above the ground and put chicken netting on the
ground to deter the skunks.
Moths
Wax moths lay their eggs on the comb before the supers are stored for winter.
Their larvae destroy the wax comb by tunnelling through it.
The best treatments are fumigation with an approved chemical or freezing the combs if
you can get access to a suitably large freezing chamber for 24 hours.
After that, store the combs in tightly sealed heavy duty garbage bags until you need
them.
Wasps like honey but they are also responsible for a lot of the stings which bees get
